Internet traffic to quadruple by 2016, says Cisco

Internet data is set for even more mind boggling growth as Cisco predicts a four-fold increase to IP traffic by 2016.

According to Cisco’s network of analysts, global IP traffic is set to reach 1.3 zettabytes. This is equivalent to 1.3 trillion gigabytes being sent around the world, or 38 million DVDs streamed over an hour, and is almost four times the traffic seen in 2011.

The rapid growth is being driven by a number of factors says Cisco in the Visual Networking Index (VNI) Forecast for 2011-2016.

The sheer weight of number of devices which are connected are connected is going to continue to increase, tablets smartphones pushing demand for connectivity, not to mention machine to machine communications.

It is estimated that there will be almost 2.5 connections for each person on earth by 2016, as connected devices jump massively from 10.3 billion to 18.9 billion.

With actual internet users expected to grow in force to 3.4 billion, while over half the world’s traffic coming from wifi, we expect Cisco is rubbing its hands with glee at the thought of router sales should its predictions prove correct.

The reports says that Faster broadband speeds will contribute to more data being flung through the ether, with an increase in average speeds from 9 megabits per second (Mbps) in 2011 to 34 Mbps in 2016.

Video is expected to be provide a basis for much of the growth, as video user numbers rocket to 1.5 billion, sending 1.2 million video minutes every second in 2016.

Video conferencing for businesses is set to see a boom, with business internet users growing from 1.6 billion to 2.3 billion.

The Asia Pacific region will see the most significant increase in IP traffic, with 40.5 exabytes per month, beating North America with 27.5 exabytes per month.

The fastest growing region will be the Middle East and Africa with a compound growth rate of 58 percent.